Dostoevsky Satire Analysis

Dostoevsky also demonstrates the complexities of a menippean satire through the usage of other texts within his novels. Dostoevsky intricately weaves texts such as poems, references to other novels, and even biblical references fluidly throughout The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. It is the ability of artfully mixing prose and poetic speech that adds to the objectification of the dilemmas presented. As Bakhtin states, “the inserted genres are presented at various distances from the ultimate authorial position, that is, with varying degrees of parodying and objectification. Verse portions are almost always given with a certain degree of parodying” (Bakhtin 118). Presenting various genres within the novels allows Dostoevsky to remain …show more content…
Similarly, in The Brothers Karamazov, during Ivan Karamazov’s recount of his poem “The Grand Inquisitor”, several references are made to the Book of Revelation from the Bible. Language from the story of the “False Prophet” can be seen interspersed throughout the scene as Ivan identifies with the Antichrist. Dostoevsky uses these references fluidly throughout the scene and does so in a manner that influences Ivan’s thinking and grounds what Ivan argues. In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky’s usage of references becomes a vehicle, which he uses to question morality. For instance, when Raskolnikov first meets Marmeladov, Marmeladov consistently makes biblical references. For instance, he refers to Sonya as his “only begotten daughter”, referencing Christ (Crime and Punishment, 15). Dostovesky uses the biblical references to interweave the moral dilemmas that the characters face in an objective manner that allows for both sides of the dilemma to develop. By using various genres Dostoevsky parodys as well as objectifies the text, using the references as an analytical tool for his